[Miles]

daros and Micha,

Of course, I was being facetious when I suggested abandoning the plugins...

I think that, at least on this.., Next Limit have got it right.

If this thread proves anything, it's that opinion is divided.

I thought that we were promised a stand-alone, too. No?

Miles

[daros]

x Miles
You have an idea wat it means in therms of time?

[Micha]

Standalone? I think this is child of the last half year.

I think, it is time to make a poll post. I would be fair, if a "old" user like Thomas An. or Tom start it. I think, many users dosn't like to post here because it seems to be wasted time, - NL dosn't communicate.

[Micha]

My trust in NL is at level zero. Only I hope the SDK is ready in some weeks or months and some ambitious software developer write plugins. And we must pay some extra money.

[Miles]

My guess is they realized they'd bitten off more than they could chew by offering so many plugins--and they didn't want to pay anyone to code them.

Perhaps Megalodesk would chip in for the Max plugin?

[Ernesto]

I find Maxwell Studio a great solution for Us that had to move to a new sofware. Otherwise we would have to learn two diferent packages, with posibly two diferent logics and standards.

Anyway I agree with some posts here, that says that the users have the two open ways of working.

Just my oppinion.

Ernesto

[daros]

If the developing of 10 plug-ins is complicated the developing of a software like MW Studio is 10 times more complicated.

I dont' undestand.

a plug-in like the old ones for MW has two options:

1) it works
2) it dosn't works

A softwae like MWStudio has following problems.

1)it must be stable
2)it must be usable usable
3)it must be user-friendly
4)it must work in all kind of productions.
5)it must be workgroup friendly.
6)100 times bigger support needs.
7)strong research of production techniques.
strong ergonomic researc.
9)congnitive walkthroughs.
10)serius beta-testing.
11)debugging in C is time consuming.
12)workflow analisys of all targeted production needs (only that is about 6 months)
13) easy migration capabilities from other softwares.
14) a 1000 times more complex SDK

I simply don't understand.

[morbid angel]

imo maxwell studio is a good idea for a very long term development.

I honestly, and respectivly to NL, cannot see how they could have released it in november, december, or any upcomping month. Being a vray beta tester I know that this kind of thing takes years to develop. We are long ways from home guys.

[Stephen]

I agree with you. I don't feel good with the new studio. I have buy Maxwell, because NL says, Rhino will have a plugin. But this plugin dosn't work right since many months. Nobody seems to work on it. Why do we not get little bugs fixed immediately after report?

Befor I have used a renderman renderer. And I have used a shader writing tool and can import my shaders/materials to my Rhino plugin. The workflow is good.

I think, if NL fixed all the bugs of the render engine and fixed the bugs of the plugins, it is enough work for the next months. But than we could start to do professional work. Please, don't spend so much time at the maxwell studio. I have the feeling, NL try to impress so much potential users as possible, but forget the current users. Also please stop writing new plugins. Please finish the current work (engine + plugins) befor.

I don't like a geometrie export workflow. Promised was a plugin version.

This sums up my feelings exactly. Many others have made the same comment. The biggest shock in RC1 Renderer is that it can't render by selecting the "render" button??? Anyone want to buy my word processor software that doesn't let you type!

[thinkbuild]

Above, someone said,

"Add my vote for quitting work on the standalone until the engine and all existing plugins are working flawlessly. It's a total waste of time."

I fully agree.

I purchased Maxwell because there was NO new low-end "studio" program to learn; rather, it (or so I was led to believe...) integrated in a low-impact way with my previously running system(s). And, over the years, I have tested many tools and chosen mine: MacOS X/SketchUP. I fully respect other's decisions, but don't want to be forced into some other new software or pushed off my platform (note that we have no RC/Studio at all for the Mac..., and no way to test/explore/particpate/WORK further...).

Like many of you, I am very frustrated and seriously annoyed at this direction. Rather than finishing the job begun, a new job - one which is much more difficult - has been started, and one which is also totally uninteresting for many of us - its not the deal we signed up for.

NextLimit is seriously pushing their limits with the user/customer base. I question how they cannot see this and start to address these questions. We - those who are ultimately paying the bills - need to know what the *real* plan is and to have some sort of honest and open interaction with the developers. 2 questions a week is totally unacceptable, and I probably am not alone when I say that patience is wearing thin on this...

[pixelarq]

Please, someone with experience here, start a POLL, perhaps this way NL at least will know the opinion of their customers.

The question is simple: we're voting to ask NL for quitting work on the standalone until the engine and all existing plugins are working flawlessly

Thanks

[Micha]

Could be good, if some body of the native english speaking user could make a poll post with two selections (my english is not good enough for a good poll):

- NL should concentrate the work on the engine/plugins and reduce the work of the studio to the material editor and finish the studio after Maxwell 1.0 is released

- NL should most time work on the render engine and the maxwell studio

[jelly]

As well as others I'd like to have a render engine wich I can use with C4D in my case capable of importing and using the material settings and geometry directly from the 3d application... at the moment a stand alone application is not convincing me at all.

It might in the future, but at the moment I would need just a rendering "plugin" that can be used from within the 3d app, application that I have learned to use, and is "mature" enough for work and commercial works.

[Miles]

I would prefer a third option, as well:

-NL Should develop the plugins and Maxwell Studio concurrently, even if it means the final release is delayed further.

Also, if this poll is intended to influence policy, all Maxwell customers have to be notified of it.

Miles

[iandavis]

consider this. Had NL NOT spent the last 6 months throwing everything they had at developing a replacement for software we ALL currently have and use. I DON'T NEED A REPLACEMENT... I've spent the last 8 years learing Lightwave inside and out. I DO NOT WANT another 3D environment... yet another step between myself and a finished image... not to mention that Lightwave can ANIMATE!

So, we all download RC1 and oh look! I can't even get a reasonable render out of the buggy thing. And the Lightwave plugin isn't much better. Still haven't gotten it to work (yes tried everything) on either of my two systems.

I for one vote to have a RENDERING ENGINE.. thank you very much. All I need is a plugin (the beta one is perfectly fine) just tweak the way textures work and it's DONE. A stand alone texture creation workshop would be awsome! The Bryce texture editor is one of the best I've seen... It's a $99 App by the way. So, a deep texture editor allowing you to save textures into a library. Software plugins that can access these custom textures... I can't imagine where a deficiency would be.

NL has no common sense here. Originally they were advertising all these plugins as a feature... only to then claim they were temporary and that the stand-alone would supplant them... news to me.. and not happy news. I WANT TO continue using Lightwave, and regardless of the stand alone, when they discontinue the plugin, so ends my use of Maxwell.

Developing YET ANOTHER 3D world for us to be required to use is counterproductive and plain stupid. Why would anyone in their right mind want to rig and set up their scenes A SECOND TIME when they have access to professional tools developed over DECADES like Lightwave, 3DS and Maya.. I mean really... was ANY thought put into this AT ALL?

Also, mihai's comment about those who don't have access to pro tools... ummm... ok, lets see... all those who want a $1000 rendering engine but dont' already have 3d experience, or any capable tools raise their hands...
< sound of wind and tumbleweeds >

again... no market study or thought put into this? Besides, some of the tools on the list are only a couple hundred bucks! Shade 8 is already 10 times the 3D app and modeller that Maxwell studio will ever be, not to mention it's more then 20 years old and stable as heck. No, if NL had abandoned the 'stand alone' idea, which IMO is software grandstanding, and concentrated 100% of their efforts on making a reasonable and professional workflow for those who do this for a living... those, the only people who WOULD drop $1000 on a RENDERING ENGINE... they would be done now, and we would be rendering... instead we all have to waste our time installing, then uninstalling an unstable, unusable nightmare of an app and STILL be using the plugin from the beginning of the summer.

I think NL has missed a HUGE point here... we all care only about producing images. I can't speak for everyone.. but I don't want an impressive and new 3D interface to setup and render my objects... I already have that. A rendering engine by DEFINITION is something that produces a better render then the application you have modelled/rigged it in. All I care about is what the client sees in the end. So the best thing for me would be to click the maxwell render button IN LIGHTWAVE and have it render an image in lightwave. If it could render out an animation using the Lightwave controls then life would be sweet... but no, somehow NL has gotten it into their heads that well all need yet another interface to do what we already CAN do. Are you listening NL? We all just want to have access to the RENDERING ENGINE... that's what we freakin paid for. I didn't pay for a fancy new interface, I just want access to the engine. And by stubbornly clinging to this, creating a completely new and stable app... something which takes YEARS... yeah, in the meantime we ALL still don't have a stable RENDERING ENGINE. Is this like goodyear delaying the production of a new snowtire until they can design and build a better CAR to run the tires on? The consumer now has to buy their new and improved "goodyearcar" to get the new winter tires... how stupid is that? I already have a car! So, what about the millions of dollars goodyear sunk into the 'goodyearcar'? Do I feel good about paying for that when I finally get my new goodyearcar containing what I actually wanted the new tires? How much better would the tires be, if they didn't spend all that time on the car? HMMM... I'm willing to bet... A LOT.

I just want my bloody TIRES.